Infantry
The Grand Alliance infantry consists of: *9th Aryaal Regiment *3rd B'mbaado Regiment *5th B'mbaado Regiment, Colonel Taa-leen *5th Baalkpan Regiment Weapons Similarly to the U.S. during World War II, the Grand Alliance is fighting a two-front war with two different enemies. In addition, it was universally agreed upon that the Grik were to take precedence over the Dominion. Consequently, the troops on the west are fighting with the most modern weapons, while the troops in the east are still fighting with rifle-muskets. West The Western Theater is where the Allance is currently occupied with the Grik/Japanese. Primary Arms The troops in the west are now primarily fighting with Allin-Silva "trapdoor" breach-loading rifles that fire a .50-80 metallic cartridge, meaning that the bullet is fifty caliber, on top of eighty grains of gun powder. The first firearms of the "Western" Allied powers, separate from the Empire of the New Britain Isles, (which used, essentially, an 18th Century Sea Service "Brown Bess"), was a percussion ignition .60 caliber smoothbore musket. These were later lined, or re-barreled to become .50 caliber rifles, accommodating a heavy "Minie" style hollow base projectile. The first Allin-Silvas were further conversions of the same arm, equipped with a "trapdoor" breech that would accept the .50-80 fixed, metallic cartridge. Initially, conversion kits were shipped to the front, consisting of altered barrels and a hammer that troops could install themselves in the field, sending their other barrels back to the armory for conversion. Eventually, this process was halted and all new (2nd Model) Allin Silvas were manufactured as completed arms, with a stronger, separate, trapdoor breech and block, virtually identical to the M 1870 Springfield, which was the predecessor to the 1873-1884 Springfield of late 19th Century "old" Earth. There are increasing numbers of "Blitzer Bug" sub-machine guns floating about. They look like a much simplified M-3 Grease Gun and fire .45 ACP rounds. Initially, there were no alternate settings other than "full auto", but that was quickly remedied. Their most notable uses are their application on the small, nimble, P-1 Mosquitohawk pursuit fighter planes. In addition, "Chack's Brigade" or "Chack's Raiders", carry large numbers of the SMGs, though their primary issue arm is a shortened "carbine" version of the Allin-Silva. They also use some unlined "1st Model" arms that are essentially 20 ga. shotguns. In addition, there are small numbers of other arms such as BARs and Krag-Jorgensons from Walker. Chack, nearly alone in his brigade, remains armed with his beloved Krag-Jorgenson, his first weapon from Walker, which he has carried in action since after the Battle of Aryaal. Secondary Arms The secondary arms for troops in the west include copies of the USN pattern of 1917 cutlass and the new copies of the M1911 pistol, firing .45 ACP as well. Captain Reddy has his Naval Academy sword as well, which has seen far more use than he ever would have expected. When the fighting turns bloody and hand-to-hand, as it almost always does, the troops have triangular socket bayonets that allow the troops to fight with a "spear" of sorts, while also retaining the ability to fire. And, to clear out tight spots, they also now have grenades. Before they were armed with firearms, Lemurians fought primarily with longbows, swords, axes, crossbows, and the like. In fact, some of the troops, like the 2nd Battalion of the 2nd Marines under the command of Blas-ma-ar, still carry the shields that they fought their first battles with, primarily as momentos from their victories, but also because they become quite useful in close quarters combat. Artillery The artillery of the Grand Alliance is highly standardized and the gunnery skills are far superior to either the Grik of the Dominion. The most common artillery piece in the Alliance is the 6-lbr. smoothbore cannon. These guns are relatively light when compared to the standard pieces of the Dominion and the Empire, but have proved quite capable of wreaking absolute havoc among enemy troops. They fire solid shot, grape-shot, and case shot. A 6-lbr. was responsible for killing one of the Dominion's "Super duper Lizards" with a single shot of exploding case shot at point-blank ranger. It should be noted that that gun and it's crew are survivors of just about every battle since Aryaal. The second most common piece is the heavier cousin of the 6-lbr. — the 12-lbr. These pieces are heavier ame more cumbersome than the 6s, but are still relatively maneuverable. They are on the whole more effective and more powerful than their smaller cousins, but are not as common because the lightness and maneuverability of the 6s allow them to travel and be deployed rapidly and in more difficult terrain. The Baalkpan Arsenal is currently developing field version copies of ''Walker' ''s 4".50 guns that will have rifled barrels, far longer ranges, and on the whole much more powerful. In addition to the smoothbore guns, arguably the most useful pieces of artillery are the 3" and 4" mortars. these mortars fire explosive shells up to 800 and 1500 yards respectively. These mortars are abe to wreak untold amounts of devastation on enemy armies, especially on the "old Grik". The Baalkpan Arsenal also has tube mortars in development, similar to those used by the Allies in the World Wars. East The weapons in the Eastern Theater are essentially the outdated versions of what their borthers in arms are fighting the Grik with. The troops in the east just recently got the Allin-Silva breech loaders, and it is quite likely that they won't be getting the new weapons in development for some time. However, they do have adequate artillery and grenades to fight with. They have both 6 and 12 lbrs, plus mortars and grenades. Since the Lemurians got the Allin-Silvas, they gave their old, .60 cal. percussion cap rifle-muskets to the Imperial troops, who in turn gave their out-dated flintlocks to the Guayakans and Puerto Viejans who they recruited to fight against the Dominion. Despite being very old, the Imperial flintlocks are superior in craftsmanship and reliability compared to the flintlocks of the Dominion.